About Us

Linda Helmig Bram, Ph.D.

Dr. Bram is a licensed psychologist who has served children, adolescents, adults, and families for over 30 years. She has a special interest in supporting people with disabilities, their parents, and siblings. She is also the parent of a child with a disability. Dr. Bram created this website to provide information and support for parents, especially those with children who have complex learning profiles, are overlooked in discussions about inclusion and least restrictive environment (LRE), and may require an alternate educational setting.

Her professional and leadership roles include:

Lecturer on Psychiatry, Part-time, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School.
Family Mentor, Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Program; Shriver Center, UMass Chan Medical Center.
Guest Lecturer, LEND Program; Institute for Community Inclusion, Boston Children's Hosptial.
DDS Citizens Advisory Board Member, Middlesex County, MA.
Community Advisory Council Member, Shriver Center, UMass Chan Medical Center.
Parent Host, Arc of Massachusetts' Operation House Call program.

Click here for a listing of Dr. Bram's background including publications, presentations, and advocacy in the disability community.

David Shapiro, B.S., Web Designer.

Brooke Naselli, artist for logo.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the many families who generously shared their stories, their joy, and their struggles. Your strength, courage, and wisdom will be valued and appreciated by many. You have my utmost admiration and appreciation.

To the professionals who shared their expertise and time (in alphabetical order):
- Elizabeth Dello Russo Becker, Esq., Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of Approved Private Schools
- Bob Broudo, Former Head of School and Founding Faculty of Landmark School
- Naomi Angoff Chedd, Educational Consultant and Child and Family Therapist, Author
- Josh Clark, Head of School, Landmark School, and Chair of International Dyslexia Association's Board of Directors
- Heather Engholm, Nurse Faculty of Boston Children's Hospital's LEND Program and Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Community Education Initiative
- Barbara Koren, Former Special Education Director
- Dr. Karen Levine, Developmental Psychologist, Author
- Dr. Nancy Roosa, Pediatric Neuropsychologist
- Emily Rubin, LICSW, Founder of MA Sibling Support Network; Asst Professor in Psychiatry, UMass Chan Medical School
- Marlies Spanjaard, Esq., Director of Education Advocacy for The Ed Law Center, an initiative of the Children’s Law Center of Massachusetts and the Youth Advocacy Division
- Vincent Strully, Founder, Executive Advisor, and Former President and CEO of The New England Center for Children

I appreciate your generously offering your knowledge, sharing your insights into the experiences of students and families, working to reduce systemic barriers, and advocating for vulnerable children. You are more important than you know to the families you serve.

Special thanks to:

The Federation for Children with Special Needs (FSCN) for hosting an earlier version of this website. I am grateful for your support of my vision when I came to you with the idea to develop this content.

Elaine Gabovitch and the faculty of the LEND Program/Shriver Center at UMass Chan Medical Center. Your mentorship and belief in my mission was crucial to the development of this project.

Foundations that awarded grants for us to create the original website to meet the needs of underserved families: The Weil Foundation, The Boston Foundation, and NE-PACT.

Photographers of the pictures on this website (view credit by hovering over each photo).Homepage slider photos are by Photo by Get Safe, Cottonbro Studios (pexels.com) and aldomurillo (Getty Images).

Most of all, to my children, who have taught me so much; and my husband, whose love, support, and partnership throughout life's ups and downs has meant the world to me.

Terms and Language Used

People with disabilities and their loved ones vary in terms of how they prefer to identify themselves. Some prefer "person first" language such as "I am a person with autism." Others prefer "identity first" terms such as "I am autistic." I respect individuals' personal choices and use their preferences when interacting with them. When it came to choosing what I would use for this website, I decided to keep the person first and foremost in mind and use person first language, as I view people as more than their diagnostic label. My personal preference is to say "a person with a disability" than "a disabled person."

The disability community is also diverse when choosing how to describe their challenges: Do we refer to a child with a "disability," "special needs, "neurodiverse" or having a learning "difference"? When working with families, I respect their preferences. For this website, I generally chose the term "disability" to be consistent with the language used in special education laws. The Family Stories section reflects families' personal choices and thus different terms may be used.